Make Your Point > Archived Issues > NEOLOGISM
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
Hear it.
See if you can recall these linguistic terms:
The word "neological," with Greek bits that literally mean "involving a new word," dates back to 1754 in English.
Part of speech:
Pick the fun, clear, semi-common, academic-sounding word "neologism" to label a newly created word or phrase.
"In the very first episode of 'The Colbert Report,' Stephen Colbert made a lasting impact on the American lexicon, by introducing for the first time the neologism 'truthiness...' Colbert immediately lampooned Americans' willingness to trust gut feelings and ignore facts."
Explain the meaning of "neologism" without saying "invented term" or "recent coinage."
Dictionary.com recently welcomed these neologisms:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1.
A near opposite of a neologism is
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |